


Alternate Stims

by AchillesMonkey



Series: Autism Acceptance Month Fics [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Autism, Autism Acceptance, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Bobbi Morse, Autistic Fitz, Gen, Meltdown, Stimming, takes place between seasons 2 and 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 21:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14317089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchillesMonkey/pseuds/AchillesMonkey
Summary: Based on the prompt: Autistic Fitz helping Bobbi deal with the stress of her recoveryTakes place between seasons 2 and 3





	Alternate Stims

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theclaravoyant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theclaravoyant/gifts).



The halls of the Playground were quiet and empty, as they should be at two in the morning. Fitz wandered the halls, chewing on the tail of the monkey-shaped chewy he’d made himself after searching the internet for one and coming up with nothing. He couldn’t sleep. It was impossible to quiet his mind with all the problems in his life. What happened to Jemma? How could he keep improving Coulson’s prosthetic hand? What last minute additions could he add to the design of the Zephyr?

He turned the corner and walked toward the gym. Suddenly, the halls were no longer quiet. He could hear someone crying. Fitz furrowed his eyebrows and picked up his pace until he was standing in the entrance of the gym. 

Bobbi was curled up in the middle of the mat, her face buried in her arms and her shoulders shaking as she sobbed. Her crutches and batons were a good distance away from her, and Fitz suspected that she had thrown them. Fitz entered the gym and went to sit on the bench along the wall to wait until Bobbi came out of her meltdown.

He chewed on his monkey and considered the pros and cons of giving Coulson a laser in his hand while he waited. Bobbi’s sobs began to die down and Fitz took his chewy out of his mouth. “Bobbi? I just wanted to let you know I’m in here with you. You don’t have to get up or talk or anything until you’re ready, but I’m here if you need me.” Bobbi didn’t acknowledge him and he stuck his chewy back in his mouth.

After a few minutes, he heard Bobbi mumble something. He got up and moved closer, crouching down a couple feet away from where she was lying down. “I didn’t hear you. Sorry,” he told her.

Bobbi rolled over and stared past him as she repeated herself. “I can’t stim anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Fitz asked.

“I can’t stim anymore,” she said again.

Fitz nodded and looked around the gym as he thought about what she was saying. His eyes fell on the crutches and batons and he immediately realized why she was upset. “Oh!” he snapped his fingers. “You normally stim by pacing and twirling your batons, but you can’t do that right now because of your knee.”

Bobbi nodded. “I can’t stim anymore.”

Fitz shifted to sit cross-legged, his fingers tapping his monkey chewy. “Maybe we could try to figure out alternate stims until your knee is healed enough for you to pace and twirl again? Like, maybe you could sit in a chair and twirl your batons? Or—here’s an even better idea—you could sit in a wheely chair and use your good leg to push yourself around while you twirl!” Fitz grinned at Bobbi, feeling proud of his ideas. “What do you think?” He nibbled on his monkey’s tail as he waited for Bobbi to find the words to reply.

“I—I could try,” Bobbi said slowly. “Tomorrow.”

Fitz nodded and checked the time on his watch. It was just after three in the morning. “Do you want help getting to bed?”

Bobbi sat up and nodded. Fitz stood and went to collect her crutches. Bobbi clutched at his hand to pull herself to a standing position and Fitz handed her the crutches before going to get her batons. 

“Where do these go?” he asked, showing them to her.

“I want them,” Bobbi said.

“Okay. I’ll carry them for you?”

Bobbi nodded and they began making their way out of the gym and toward the sleeping quarters. They stopped outside of Bobbi and Hunter’s room. “Thank you, Fitz,” Bobbi said, reaching out to take the batons from him.

“You’re welcome,” Fitz responded automatically. “Do you need anything else?”

“No, I’ll wake Hunter up. Go get some sleep, Fitz. You can’t help me unless you take care of yourself.” 

“Okay. Night, Bobbi.”

“Good night, Fitz.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and for any kudos/comments! I'm currently taking prompts for autistic fic on my [Tumblr](http://unlessimwrongwhichyouknowimnot.tumblr.com)


End file.
